Greetings from Charlotte,
All of our "world travelers" from Headquarters have returned to Charlotte safely, with very positive comments about the Feast sites they attended. As we settle into our normal routines following the Feast, it is sobering to watch the violence spreading in the Middle East, the pressures building in Europe from the influx of immigrants and the continuing loss of influence and prestige for America in the world. We appear to be heading for increasingly difficult times in the days ahead. Here in Charlotte, Dr. Meredith has completed an article for The Living Church News and he is working on an October co-worker letter that will be mailed next week. It is encouraging to report that this year's Feast attendance was just over 10,400 worldwide. Plans are well advanced for next year's Festival. Please pray that God will watch over His people and continue to guide and direct His Work so we can fulfill the end-time mission that God has given His Church.—DSW
Church Administration
2015 Charlotte Family Weekend
The Charlotte congregation is once again hosting a Family Weekend in December! Arrival will be on Thursday, December 24, and departure will be on Monday, December 28. Housing and most of the activities will once again be held at the Renaissance Charlotte Suites Hotel. The weekend of events will kick off on Thursday evening with a casual "sock hop" dance. On Friday morning there will be seminars for teens, young singles, mature singles and married couples, followed by an activity in the afternoon and a Bible Study that evening. On the Sabbath there will be a Bible Study, Sabbath services and a special dinner dance. Plans are set for a full day of sports tournaments and games on Sunday. More details are available on the Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/LcgCharlotteWinterWeekend?ref=bookmarks. Last year we had over 670 people in attendance, and this year we hope to break 700! We hope many of you will be able to join us for these four exciting days of fellowship, physical and spiritual food and fun!—Jim Meredith
Kansas City Family Weekend: January 1-3
Save the date! The Kansas City Family Weekend is just 2½ months away! Activities will begin on Friday, January 1, and run through Sunday, January 3. The locations for the activities will be the same as last year, and much of the activity lineup will be similar, although we do have a few new surprises up our sleeves. Registration, housing information and activity schedules are coming soon. We look forward to seeing you in January!—Michael Keesee
Internet Department
New Dutch Web Site Launched!
The new Dutch language Tomorrow's World Web site is now live! Check it out at http://www.wereldvanmorgen.org/. We greatly appreciate the translators who have helped so much, and continue to help, with content translation.—Wyatt Ciesielka
Feast of Tabernacles
More Divine Interventions
We have received additional inspiring and encouraging reports of miraculous interventions for God's people during the Feast of Tabernacles:
Dramatic Intervention in Kingston
Mr. Ed Fulford, a Deacon in the Kingston, Ontario, congregation suffered a major stroke during Sabbath services just prior to the Feast. Mr. Gary Ehman was present at services that particular day and immediately anointed him before the arrival of the paramedics who transported him to the nearby hospital. Mr. Fulford remained in the hospital for the duration of the Feast and returned to greet many of the brethren after services in Niagara Falls on the Last Great Day. Needless to say, the brethren at services on the day of his stroke began beseeching God and additional announcements were made at the Feast, asking brethren to pray for him. There is no doubt God answered. Mr. Fulford is now at home and resting. According to his wife Brenda, he is doing "really well," doing regular work but not overdoing it—he is also sleeping and eating well. The comment from his own family doctor after the Feast was that he "couldn't believe there were no residual effects." That same doctor then put him through some of the tests performed at the hospital, saying he "had to see for himself." Mr. and Mrs. Fulford are so thankful to all of God's people for their prayers.—Winston Gosse
God's Intervention at the Feast in Texas
An older member of the Dallas congregation attending the Feast in Boerne, was having difficulty breathing with severe chest and back pains Sunday night at the Feast. Her daughter called for an anointing at 11:30 p.m. Mr. Dwain Crisman was with us at the time, so we immediately drove over to where she was staying and anointed her. As we completed the anointing the paramedics were knocking on the door and took over from there. She was sent to the ER and then to a hospital in San Antonio where it was determined she had had a heart attack. She had two stints put in and was able to attended services later in the Feast! She is back home now regaining strength and doing fine, thanks to God.—Gary Stein
Immediate Relief from Severe Headache
One of our members attending the Feast in Barbados was in extreme pain with a severe headache that started during the night at the beginning of the Last Great Day. I was called very early in the morning. When I arrived, she was crying and turning in bed. It was evident that she was in severe pain and needed instant relief. We asked God's intervention and immediately she stopped crying and went off resting. She attended the afternoon service on the Last Great Day. What a wonderful experience!—Clyde Skeete
To All Servers at the Feast—Repeat Announcement
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who served at the Feast this year—in Setup, Cleanup, Business Office, Audio/Video, Parking, Choir, Activities—you name it! As they say, "many hands make light work"! Each year this is dramatically illustrated at all of our Feast sites worldwide. Thank you to everyone who willingly gave of their time, energy, funds and enthusiastic effort to make the Feast a delight to other brethren.
And thank you especially to all of our festival coordinators who served in 52 sites around the world this year. A coordinator's work is virtually year-round—beginning in December and January with Feast write-ups for the Web site, and culminating in orchestrating and conducting all the moving parts that make a Feast site work, then completing all the follow-up work and reports. God certainly blessed the Feast of Tabernacles 2015 with outstanding examples of leadership and service. Thank you to all who made it possible!
Fill Out Your Festival Survey—Repeat Announcement
If you have not already handed in a paper survey, or filled it out online, please fill out the Festival Survey as soon as possible. Every entry is read, and your comments are valuable! Deadline for filling out the Festival Survey is Tuesday, October 20. You can access the Feast Survey at fotsurvey.lcg.org.
Living Youth Program
Friday Evening Online Youth Bible Studies Resuming
Online youth Bible Studies resume on Friday evening, October 16, with a Bible Study by Mr. Sheldon Monson on "Earnestly Contend for the Faith Once Delivered." If you haven't had the opportunity to join us for one of the online Bible Studies yet, we encourage you to do so. It is a wonderful way to start the Sabbath day and everyone, regardless of age, is welcome to "tune in."
The Bible Study runs from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. (Eastern time) and the chat room will be open for a half hour before and after the study. We hope as many of our youth as possible will join us for this wonderful opportunity for godly fellowship and learning. Information about joining the studies is available on the Living Youth Web site at livingyouth.org.
Comments
Sobering Signs of the Times: Jesus said we are to watch world events as we get closer to the end of the age (Matthew 24:42-44). It is sobering to see the parallels between significant events mentioned in the Scriptures and the times in which we are living. In Genesis 6 we see that God sent a flood to end a civilization that was permeated with violence and wickedness. In Genesis 18 and 19, God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their sinful depravity—open homosexuality, pride, arrogance, high living and unconcern for the poor (Genesis 19:5; Ezekiel 16:49-50). The citizens of these cities, including Lot and his family, had forgotten why God had destroyed almost the entire human race only 400 years before. Yet, in spite of being surrounded by this moral depravity, Lot and his family were reluctant to leave their city. As we see the same moral depravity and horrendous violence spreading throughout the world, we need to remember that these Old Testament examples are recorded for our admonition today as we approach the end of the age (1 Corinthians 10:1-13). We need to remember the Apostle Paul's admonition to "come out" of this world and its perverted ways (2 Corinthians 6:17-18), because God's judgment on our modern world is coming—just as it did on the ancient world. We need to wake up and recognize the significance of what is happening around us and earnestly pray, "Thy Kingdom come."
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—October 15, 2015
Palestinian Day of Rage: "Palestinian men armed with knives and a gun killed at least three people and wounded several others in a string of attacks in Jerusalem and near Tel Aviv on Tuesday, police said, on a 'Day of Rage' declared by Palestinian groups. With the worst unrest in years in Israel and the Palestinian territories showing no sign of abating, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting of his security cabinet to discuss what police said would be new operational plans" (Reuters, October 13, 2015). "In Jerusalem, two Palestinians shot and stabbed passengers on a bus, killing two and injuring four, police said. One of the assailants was killed and the other captured. Minutes later, a Palestinian rammed his car into a bus stop in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of the city, police said. A surveillance video showed him then hacking pedestrians with a cleaver until he was shot dead by a passer-by. One of the Israelis he attacked died and six others were hurt, police said… Seven Israelis and 29 Palestinians, including 10 alleged attackers and eight children, have died in the surge of violence" (ibid.). These tragic events in the Holy Land are "crying out" for external political and military intervention to bring stability and relative peace to this war-torn region. The Bible reveals that a brief peace will come to this region as a result of an agreement brokered by the "king of the north" and which will be broken halfway through (Daniel 9:27; Psalm 83:1-8; Daniel 11:27-30). Eventually the "beast" or "king of the north" will surround Jerusalem with armies and take total control (Daniel 11:31; Luke 21:20-21), and then Christ will return and bring true and lasting peace to Jerusalem! For more about these coming events, read "Jerusalem's Sobering Future!"
Prophecy and the Pope! On September 17, 2015, Time Magazine ran an article entitled: "Pope Francis and the New Roman Empire." The article stated, "Francis' strategy is bold, both on the world stage and within the Vatican. First, he is injecting himself into high-level diplomacy by taking controversial positions on the biggest issues of the day… In the Middle East, the Pope has alternately pleased and disappointed all sides. His push for the Iran nuclear deal bolstered the White House but angered Israel. The Vatican recognized Palestinian statehood in June, infuriating Jerusalem, but chose not to support Palestinians' effort to raise their flag at the U.N. before the Pope's visit there this month… As of last December, Francis was viewed favorably by 84% of those polled in Europe, 78% in the U.S. and 72% in Latin America, according to the Pew Research Center… given his success so far—and the scope of his ambitions—there's little doubt of this Pope's ability to use the little things to advance big changes (ibid.)." End-time Bible prophecies reveal that the coming European "beast" power will be backed by a powerful religious figure known in Revelation 20:10 as the "false prophet" (see also Revelation 13:11-17). This prophesied religious leader will directly influence the actions of the "beast" (Revelation 13:4). The current pope is setting the stage for this powerful future alliance that will ultimately reshape the world of geopolitics. For more on the future of the papacy, be sure to read our booklet on The Beast of Revelation.
Chile's Major Earthquake: At least eleven people died and over a million people were evacuated to avoid 15-foot-high tsunami waves, after an 8.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the cost of Chile in mid-September (Reuters, September 17, 2015). "The power of the initial earthquake was such that it could be felt across swaths of South America" (The Guardian, September 17, 2015). Chile is one of the most earthquake prone nations on earth and sits on the Pacific "ring of fire." Although this quake was large and devastating, and affected hundreds of thousands, it is only a foretaste of "earthquakes in various places" that Jesus prophesied would impact the entire earth at the end of the age (Matthew 24:7). Christians watching the devastation of these climactic events should be motivated to pray even more fervently for God's Kingdom to come, as instructed by Christ (Matthew 6:10). For more on the global extent of earthquakes and other weather events at the end of the age, be sure to read our booklet Who Controls the Weather?—Scott Winnail, Francine Prater and Chris Sookdeo